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I never thought my case would end up at the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, not only did it make it to the highest court in the country, Thursday's decision in my case, Groff v. DeJoy, will restore religious liberty to the workplace.
As a native of Lancaster County, my desire has always been to help my community. Even while serving on mission trips around the world, Lancaster was always home. My family is from here, and my faith was molded here. Lancaster is my home.
That’s one of the reasons being a full-time postal carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, seemed like such a perfect fit. Not only could I have a great job, working with wonderful people while serving my community, but I could also honor the Lord’s Day since when I started at the USPS, they didn’t deliver on Sundays.
That all changed when USPS contracted with Amazon to deliver packages on Sundays, forcing me to choose between following my faith or keeping my job.
At first, I was able to work with my supervisor to find a solution: I worked every holiday that did not fall on the Lord’s Day and took extra route work on weekdays and Saturdays to make up for not working Sundays.
SUPREME COURT HANDS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WIN TO POSTAL WORKER WHO REFUSED TO WORK ON SUNDAY
Gerald Groff during a television interview near a U.S. Post Office, March 8, 2023, in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
I was always willing to do so. I enjoyed my co-workers and was always grateful for their willingness to take Sunday shifts while I covered their shifts on holidays or Saturdays. I have personally heard from several of my former co-workers who have expressed their support for my case, for which I am deeply grateful.
In many ways, my case is about my former co-workers who worked with me and knew honoring the Lord’s Day was important to what I believed. Some covered my Sunday routes and faithfully supported me for standing up for what I believe. Like most Americans, they seem to care about respecting others by preserving the freedom we should all enjoy: the freedom to maintain our faith in the workplace without the threat of being fired for doing so.
As much as I was willing to accommodate the Post Office, stepping in to help my co-workers when they needed it, the Postal Service would not accommodate me. If I had been willing to compromise what I believed and even worked just a handful of Sundays, I would have achieved enough seniority to have a full-time route and Sundays off.
But that meant I either violate God’s command to honor the Lord’s Day by keeping it holy or honor Him and trust Him with the outcome. On the verge of my ideal career, I surrendered all my seniority, unwilling to sacrifice my hope of becoming a full-time carrier at the prospect of refusing God’s decree—even if it meant working just one Lord’s Day.
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Gerald Groff lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (First Liberty Institute)
But that was not enough for the Postal Service. Rather than respect my faith, for nearly two years, the Postal Service disciplined me multiple times, docked my pay, mocked my faith, and eventually made life at the post office so hostile, it was leave or be fired. It was then that I decided I had to take a stand for religious liberty, so I filed a lawsuit against the USPS.
Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that the Constitution requires employers to respect and protect religious employees like me. When everyone is treated fairly in the workplace, we help promote our nation’s historic commitment to religious diversity.
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I am delighted that the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to providing equal opportunity and fair treatment in the workplace. More than that, the justices affirmed my decision to trust God by honoring the Lord’s Day. I am grateful to all those who have expressed their support—especially my family, community, co-workers and neighbors.
But I am especially grateful to live in a nation that continues to honor the important role religion plays in everyday life.
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